Talks on exit for Yemen’s leader stall

Sunday

Mar 27, 2011 at 12:01 AMMar 27, 2011 at 1:00 AM

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Allies of Yemen’s president and his political opponents failed to make progress yesterday in talks on a possible exit for the man who has led the nation through 32 years of growing poverty and conflict and whose rule is now deeply imperiled by a popular uprising.

As the political turmoil deepened, there were signs that Islamic militants in the remote reaches of the country were seeking to make gains on the situation. Residents and witnesses in the small town of Jaar in the south said suspected al-Qaida militants moved down from an expanse of mountains yesterday to seize control there a few weeks after police fled, setting up checkpoints and occupying vacant government buildings.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh argued in a TV interview that without him, the country would be at grave risk of breaking apart.

“Yemen is a ticking bomb, and if the political system collapses and there’s no constructive dialogue, there will be a long civil war that will be difficult to end,” he told the Al-Arabiya network.

Officials on both sides of yesterday’s talks, which were attended by the U.S. ambassador, said the parties refused to give any ground.

After six weeks of unprecedented protests in Yemen, Saleh says he is willing to step aside in a peaceful transition of power, but has left himself room for maneuvering by adding that he wants to leave the country in “safe hands.”

In the TV interview, he insisted he would not leave the presidency “humiliated” and that even if he stepped down as president, he would remain head of his Congress Party, leaving the door open for his continued involvement in the nation’s politics.

“I will not give up on my supporters,” he said.

The protesters — whose ranks have been bolstered by defecting military commanders, lawmakers, cabinet ministers, diplomats and even Saleh’s own tribe — are insisting that he go immediately. The demands and defections have grown since government security forces — including snipers on rooftops — fatally shot more than 40 demonstrators in the capital of Sanaa a week ago.

In yesterday’s talks, Saleh’s vice president and political adviser met with the U.S. ambassador and tribal and military leaders who joined the opposition, said presidential spokesman Ahmed al-Sufi. Among the military leaders was Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who has deployed his tanks in downtown Sanaa to protect protesters. Al-Ahmar is the most powerful man to emerge as a likely successor to Saleh; he began efforts to negotiate with the president on Thursday.

Al-Sufi said ruling party officials were prepared to discuss a possible transition of power, but the opposition demanded Saleh’s immediate resignation and a ban on future government positions for him and his family.

“These demands are impossible to accept,” al-Sufi told The Associated Press. “What is clear is that the president wants an honorable transfer of power according to the constitution and through elections.”

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